ChatGPT & Prompting Terms Glossary

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot created by OpenAI that uses large language models to answer questions, generate content, summarize information, assist with research, and help users complete tasks through conversation.

Prompt

A prompt is the instruction, request, or question given to an AI tool to generate a response or complete a task.

Prompt Engineering

Prompt engineering is the process of writing clear and detailed prompts to improve the quality, accuracy, and usefulness of AI-generated outputs.

AI Hallucination

An AI hallucination happens when an AI system generates false, misleading, or incorrect information that sounds believable but is inaccurate.

Context Window

A context window is the amount of information an AI model can remember and process during a single conversation or interaction.

Token

A token is a small piece of text processed by an AI model. Tokens may be whole words, parts of words, punctuation, or characters depending on the system.

System Prompt

A system prompt is a hidden instruction that guides how an AI assistant behaves, responds, or follows rules during conversations.

User Prompt

A user prompt is the message or instruction entered by the person using the AI tool.

AI Assistant

An AI assistant is an artificial intelligence tool designed to help users complete tasks, answer questions, generate content, or improve productivity.

AI Agent

An AI agent is an AI-powered system that can independently complete tasks, make decisions, and take actions on behalf of a user with limited human input.

Conversational AI

Conversational AI refers to AI systems designed to communicate with people through natural conversations using text or voice.

AI Chatbot

An AI chatbot is a conversational AI system that interacts with users by answering questions and responding to messages in a chat-style format.

Role Prompting

Role prompting is a prompting technique where users tell the AI to act as a specific role or expert to improve the response quality.

Example

“Act as a marketing strategist for small businesses.”

Chain-of-Thought Prompting

Chain-of-thought prompting encourages AI to explain reasoning step-by-step before providing a final answer.

Zero-Shot Prompting

Zero-shot prompting means asking AI to complete a task without providing examples first.

Few-Shot Prompting

Few-shot prompting means giving AI a few examples before asking it to complete a similar task.

Fine-Tuning

Fine-tuning is the process of training an existing AI model on additional data to improve performance for specific industries, tasks, or use cases.

Custom GPT

A Custom GPT is a personalized version of ChatGPT configured with custom instructions, knowledge, files, and behaviors for specific tasks or businesses.

AI Memory

AI memory allows certain AI systems to remember information across conversations to provide more personalized responses over time.

Temperature

Temperature is an AI setting that controls how creative or predictable AI responses are.

Low temperature

More focused and predictable responses.

High temperature

More creative and varied responses.

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is a system where AI retrieves live information from external sources before generating an answer.

Multimodal AI

Multimodal AI is artificial intelligence that can process and generate multiple types of content such as text, images, audio, and video.

AI Image Generation

AI image generation is the process of creating images using artificial intelligence based on text prompts or uploaded references.

AI Video Generation

AI video generation uses artificial intelligence to create or edit videos automatically using prompts, scripts, or uploaded media.

AI Voice Generation

AI voice generation uses artificial intelligence to create realistic human-like speech from written text.

Speech Recognition

Speech recognition is AI technology that converts spoken language into text or commands.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Natural language processing (NLP) is the branch of AI that helps computers understand, interpret, and respond to human language naturally.

Large Language Model (LLM)

A large language model (LLM) is an AI system trained on massive amounts of text so it can understand and generate human-like language. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot are examples of LLMs.

Generative AI

Generative AI is artificial intelligence that creates new content such as text, images, code, music, audio, or videos based on prompts from users.

AI Model

An AI model is a trained artificial intelligence system that processes information and generates outputs such as answers, predictions, or recommendations.

Dataset

A dataset is a collection of information used to train, test, or improve AI systems.

Training Data

Training data is the information AI systems learn from during development. The quality and accuracy of training data directly affect AI performance.

Embeddings

Embeddings are numerical representations of words, phrases, or information that help AI systems understand relationships and meaning between pieces of content.

Semantic Search

Semantic search is a search method that focuses on understanding meaning and user intent rather than only matching keywords.

Conversational Search

Conversational search allows users to search using natural questions and follow-up conversations instead of short keyword phrases.

AI Search

AI search uses artificial intelligence to provide direct answers, summaries, and conversational responses instead of only showing website links.

AI Citation

An AI citation happens when an AI system references or mentions a source website while generating an answer.

AI Overview

An AI Overview is an AI-generated summary shown in search engines like Google that combines information from multiple sources into a direct answer.

Atomic Answer

An atomic answer is a short, self-contained answer block that directly answers a question without needing additional context. Atomic answers are highly useful for AI extraction and citations.

Passage Retrieval

Passage retrieval is the process where AI systems scan content and select the most relevant sections or text blocks to include in generated answers.

Query Fan-Out

Query fan-out is when AI systems break a user’s question into multiple smaller related searches before generating a complete answer.

AI Crawlers

AI crawlers are automated bots used by AI companies to scan and retrieve website content for AI systems. Examples include GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and PerplexityBot.

Retrievability

Retrievability refers to how easily AI systems can find, access, and extract information from a webpage or content source.

AI Visibility

AI visibility refers to how easily AI systems can find, understand, trust, and reference a business, brand, or website in AI-generated answers.

Prompt Template

A prompt template is a reusable AI prompt structure designed to produce consistent outputs for repeated tasks.

Prompt Library

A prompt library is a collection of organized prompts that users can reuse for different AI tasks and workflows.

AI Workflow

An AI workflow is a structured process where multiple AI tools or prompts are combined to complete tasks more efficiently.

AI Automation

AI automation combines artificial intelligence and automation to complete tasks that normally require human thinking or manual effort.

AI Productivity Tools

AI productivity tools are software applications that use artificial intelligence to help users save time, automate work, and improve efficiency.

AI Copilot

An AI copilot is an AI assistant integrated into software or workflows to help users complete tasks more efficiently.

Bias in AI

Bias in AI happens when AI systems produce unfair, inaccurate, or unbalanced results because of biased training data or flawed system design.

Ethical AI

Ethical AI refers to the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence in ways that are fair, transparent, safe, and respectful of privacy.

AI Literacy

AI literacy is the ability to understand how AI works, how to use AI responsibly, and how to critically evaluate AI-generated information.